Today Apple unveiled their new iPad and updated Apple TV, though the main point was introducing the new iPad with a Retina Display and 4G cellular capability.
The new iPad has, as expected, has a sharper screen, driven by a faster processing chip that acts as the “brains” of the device. What was more surprising was that the new features mean the tablet computer will be slightly thicker and heavier than the iPad 2, because it needs a larger battery to power the high-resolution screen.
Prices aren’t changing from the previous models. They will start at $499. Versions capable of accessing cellular networks will cost $629 to $829. Apple is also keeping the basic model of the iPad 2 in production and dropping the price to $399. That could help Apple regain some market share from cheaper tablets like Amazon.com Inc.’s $199 Kindle Fire. Samsung Electronics and other makers of full-size tablets have cut their prices to below $500.
The new iPad will go on sale March 16 in the U.S., Canada and 10 other countries. A week later, it will go on sale in 25 more countries.
For Apple TV, Apple is also upgrading the set-top box so it can play movies in 1080p, the highest-resolution commonly used video standard.
New Apple iPad Commercial:
iPad 3 Specifications:
Models:
- Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi + 4G
Size & Weight:
- Height: 9.50 inches (241.2 mm)
- Width: 7.31 inches (185.7 mm)
- Depth: 0.37 inch (9.4 mm)
- Weight: 1.44 pounds (652 g) Wi-Fi, 1.46 pounds (662 g) Wi-Fi + 4G
Storage:
- 16GB
- 32GB
- 64GB
Display:
- Retina display
- 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
- 2048-by-1536-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi)
- Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
- Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously
Chip:
- Dual-core Apple A5X custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip with quad-core graphics
Wireless & Cellular:
- Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
- Bluetooth 4.0 technology
- Wi-Fi + 4G for AT&T model: LTE (700, 2100 MHz)3; UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
- Wi-Fi + 4G for Verizon model: LTE (700 MHz)3; CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900 MHz); UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
Cameras, Photos, and Video Recording:
- 5-megapixel iSight camera
- Autofocus
- Tap to focus
- Face detection in still images
- Video recording, HD (1080p) up to 30 frames per second with audio
- Video stabilization
- FaceTime camera with VGA-quality photos and video at up to 30 frames per second
- Photo and video geotagging
Battery & Power:
- Built-in 42.5-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
- Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
- Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system
- Up to 9 hours of surfing the web using cellular data network (Wi-Fi + 4G)
Input & Output:
- 30-pin dock connector port
- 3.5-mm stereo headphone minijack
- Built-in speaker
- Microphone
- Micro-SIM card tray (Wi-Fi + 4G)
Sensor:
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Gyroscope
Location:
- Wi-Fi
- Digital compass
- Assisted GPS (Wi-Fi + 4G)
- Cellular (Wi-Fi + 4G)
Audio Playback:
- Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
- Audio formats supported: HE-AAC (V1 and V2), AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
- User-configurable maximum volume limit
- Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound pass-through with Apple Digital AV Adapter (sold separately)
TV & Video:
- AirPlay Mirroring to Apple TV (2nd and 3rd generation) at 720p
- AirPlay video streaming to Apple TV (3rd generation) at up to 1080p and Apple TV (2nd generation) at up to 720p
- Video mirroring and video out support: Up to 1080p with Apple Digital AV Adapter or Apple VGA Adapter (adapters sold separately)
- Video out support at 576i and 480i with Apple Composite AV Cable (cable sold separately)
- Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format
Mail Attachment Support:
Viewable document types: .jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)
Languages:
- Language support for English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
- Keyboard support for English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese – Simplified (Handwriting, Pinyin, Stroke), Chinese – Traditional (Handwriting, Pinyin, Zhuyin, Cangjie, Stroke), French, French (Canadian), French (Switzerland), German (Germany), German (Switzerland), Italian, Japanese (Romaji, Kana), Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Cherokee, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Emoji, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Serbian (Cyrillic/Latin), Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Tibetan, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
- Dictionary support (enables predictive text and autocorrect) for English (U.S.), English (UK), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, French (Canadian), French (Switzerland), German, Italian, Japanese (Romaji, Kana), Korean, Spanish, Arabic, Catalan, Cherokee, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Flemish, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
- Dictation support for English (U.S., UK, and Australian), French, German, Japanese
Accessibility:
- VoiceOver screen reader
- Support for playback of closed-captioned content
- AssistiveTouch interface for adaptive accessories
- Full-screen zoom magnification
- Large fonts
- White on black display
- Left/right volume adjustment
Enviromenal Requirements:
- Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
- Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
- Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
- Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)
System Requirements:
- Apple ID (required for some features)
- Internet access6
- Syncing with iTunes on a Mac or PC requires:
- Mac: OS X v10.5.8 or later
- PC: Windows 7; Windows Vista; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later
- iTunes 10.6 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)
In the Box:
- iPad
- Dock Connector to USB Cable
- 10W USB Power Adapter
- Documentation